We went to top-rated Auckland restaurant Cocoro, who exclusively serve the real deal, to see whether we could actually tell the difference.

Ewan Sargent

Real wasabi rhizome and rhizome being grated.

Given four different varieties to try, we took a blind taste test: from a tube, from wasabi powder, 100 per cent ground Coppersfolly wasabi and Cocoro's special mix of 90 per cent New Zealand and 10 per cent Japanese wasabi.